The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1887-05-13
WASHINGTON LETTER
from our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON. d. @. MAY 9th,


wAsHrSeroN. d. @. May 9th, 1887.
The event Of the past week was the
visit TO Washington Of the Queen of
the Sandwich Islands and her suite.
All sorts of obsequious attentions were
paid to her majesty at the Capital OF
this great Republic, for although Kap-
iolani has the complexion of mulatto
and the Egyptian cast of feature, she
is royal parsonage, and there is only
one way TO treat visiting royalty, in
this country as well as in any other.
The Queen first called at the White
House, and her visit was returned by
Mrs. Cleveland and the ladies of the
Cabinet in less than two hours, &C.
cording to the royal etiquette. Then
followed q good deal of sightseeing
around the city under the pilotage of a
committee of reception, dinner at the
Hawaiian Legation, a review and pa
rade of troops in her honor, reception
of masons at her hotel king Kalakau,
the Queens husband, is a member of
that fraternity visit to the circus, an
other to the races, trip to the tomb
of Washington on the U. S. Despatch
escorted by an imposing company of
foreign Diplomats and representatives
of our own Government, and a banquet
at the White House.
The conjunction of royalty and dem
ocracy was especially interesting as
presented at the State dinner. The
President of nearly sixty millions of
freemen led out the queen consort,
Kapiolani, of little more than sixty
thousand people, and sat at one end of
his official board with the dusky hued
Queen on his right and the dusky
princess accompanying her on his left.
For once, at least, since the beginning
! of bis Administration, Mr.. Cleveland
found himself fanked by two women
who could not talk back to him. Nei.
ther of them had sufficient command of
English for general conversation. At
| the other end of the table sat Mrs.
Cleveland and Minister Carter, who
represents the little kingdom in the
Pacific ocean TO this Government. Mrs.
Cleveland laughed gayly as she talked
to her escort and was evidently enjoy
ing the Presidents situation while she
was concealed from his view by large
floral decoration in the centre of the
table.
The banquet was most elaborate
affair and in perfection of every detail
was thought to excel any entertain
ment given at the Executive Mansion
during Mr.. Cleveland's occupancy.
The State apartments were profusely
decorated with flowers, among which
the Hawaiian colors were prominent,
and the East Room surpassed the oc-
casion of the Presidents wedding, not
in number, perhaps, but in the selec.
ton of the flowers used.
When visiting the Treasury Depart
ment Kapiolani was taken down into
the subterranean vaults where the
money is kept, and seemed to take a
deep interest in the loads of gold and
silver stored away there. When told
] how much money she stood in the
midst of, she was filed with wonder.
She left the Capital delighted with her
visit, and thinking that this is Great
people, and that they have a big Navy,
and immense dinners, and big taffy
mines and handsome Presidents wives.
But let it be said of Hawaiia's
Queen that notwithstanding the fact
that hers is only little kingdom aud
that her skin is colored brown, royalty
of the highest degree could not have
deported itself with more becoming
lady, like grace than she exhibited dur
ing her visit to Washington. She
showed herself to be woman of good
sense and good manners. She was un-
obtrusive, modest, self. poised, dignl-
fed and even stately. Not speaking
English she was at disadvantage, but
she was intelligent looking, and ap-
! parently quick-witted.
Probably the silliest of all the silly
stories that have been told of Secretary
Lamar was that one to the effect that
he would not attend the State dinner
given to the Queen of the Sandwich
Islands on account of her color. 1t
seems ridiculous to take time to con-
tradict so preposterous report, were
it not for the fact that some people
might be just silly enough to believe
it. The Secretary was confined to his
house by sickness at the time, and his
non.appearance at the White House
on the above mentioned occasion was
attributed to that cause alone.